Contacts

Melbourne, Australia – A first-of-its-kind ag-tech facility will be established in Melbourne's southeast with the vision to innovate new smart farming techniques including automated harvesting, sensing networks and driverless vehicles in response to the growing challenges faced by the agriculture sector.

A partnership between Monash University and Bosch Australia to collaborate on future-oriented smart agriculture will enable the establishment of the ag-tech launch pad facility and accompanying development centre that will occupy one hectare at Bosch's headquarters in Clayton.

The facility will house a prototypical 'smart farm' and will enable collaborative industry partnerships and research. The space will include cropping trials and early-stage prototype development, enabling the use of artificial intelligence, automation, robotics and advanced sensor technology.

The development comes at a crucial time for Australia with efforts to boost agriculture and food productivity in what is to become the biggest industrial sector by 2050, overtaking minerals and mining. It will add to the thriving billion dollar investment hub known as the Clayton Innovation Precinct.

Monash Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Enterprise), Ken Sloan said the facility would leverage the University's close connections to industry and multidisciplinary capabilities across Engineering, IT and Science, to drive technological advances in agriculture.

"This Monash-Bosch collaboration represents our shared capabilities in agriculture technology and creates the opportunity to lead future advancement of the ag-tech sector - the next big growth industry for Australia," Mr. Sloan said.

"With rising temperatures and rapid population growth requiring food production to double by mid-century - it's clear we need major innovations in how we eat and farm. We need inventions to increase yields, nutrient quality and sustainability of our food production to cope with the world demand and climate.

The facility will become a key component of food and agriculture innovation at Monash which already includes the Food Innovation Centre, the Food Incubuator, and the Australia-China Dairy Manufacturing Centre.

Bosch, a leading global supplier of technology and services, has increasingly focused on agricultural solutions. Most recently, Bosch has engaged in a research collaboration with global enterprise, Bayer, to safeguard yields by sustainably clearing weeds using 'smart spraying' technology.

In Australia, Bosch is a lead investor and technology partner of The Yield, an Australian ag-tech company with a vision to use real-time microclimate data to transform agriculture and food production practices.

Bosch Australia has also partnered with SwarmFarm, another Australian ag-tech start-up, to provide engineering and manufacturing services for its autonomous agriculture robotic platform.

President of Bosch Australia, Gavin Smith, said of the collaboration, "Increasingly we see that there is no better place than Australia for ag-tech innovation. The establishment of the launch pad by Monash at our facility in Clayton will present a myriad of opportunities for collaboration."

Bosch and Monash have had a presence in Clayton since the 1950s, both being founded to support the emerging manufacturing industry of the time.

Bosch has had a presence in Australia since 1907, opening its first wholly owned subsidiary, Robert Bosch (Australia) Pty Ltd in 1954. Bosch generates revenues of more than 750 million Australian dollars per annum in Oceania, and employs over 1400 associates. Our regional activities are operated through six wholly owned subsidiary companies and cover a diverse range of businesses including household appliances, security technology, power tools and accessories, engineering services and contract manufacturing, parts and equipment for automotive workshops and motorsport enthusiasts, franchised car servicing, equipment, services and solutions for manufacturers, drives and control technology, software innovations, agriculture technology projects, hot water and heating systems, packaging technologies, and service support for Bosch equipped eBikes

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 400,500 associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2017). According to preliminary figures, the company generated sales of 78 billion euros in 2017. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility Solutions, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. As a leading IoT company, Bosch offers innovative solutions for smart homes, smart cities, connected mobility, and connected manufacturing. It uses its expertise in sensor technology, software, and services, as well as its own IoT cloud, to offer its customers connected, cross-domain solutions from a single source. The Bosch Group’s strategic objective is to deliver innovations for a connected life. Bosch improves quality of life worldwide with products and services that are innovative and spark enthusiasm. In short, Bosch creates technology that is “Invented for life.” The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 450 subsidiaries and regional companies in some 60 countries. Including sales and service partners, Bosch’s global manufacturing, engineering, and sales network covers nearly every country in the world. The basis for the company’s future growth is its innovative strength. At 125 locations across the globe, Bosch employs 62,500 associates in research and development.

The company was set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering.” The special ownership structure of Robert Bosch GmbH guarantees the entrepreneurial freedom of the Bosch Group, making it possible for the company to plan over the long term and to undertake significant upfront investments in the safeguarding of its future. Ninety-two percent of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is held by Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, a charitable foundation. The majority of voting rights are held by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG, an industrial trust. The entrepreneurial ownership functions are carried out by the trust. The remaining shares are held by the Bosch family and by Robert Bosch GmbH.